A Question for Enoch

Question for Enoch

Since the prophet Enoch must now be still alive and at least five thousand years old I would love to ask him if I meet him: Do you remember writing the Book of Enoch? It is a curious matter whether human memory functions after thousands of years or whether the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of truth takes over in perpetuating knowledge from that long ago. Of course a greater question is whether the Son of Man who was incarnated two thousand years ago has actual memory of creating all things or whether persisting such truth needs more than human faculties can provide and the Holy Spirit reveals such things instead.

Father Time, the Son of Man and the Oath

The Book of Enoch is mankind’s springboard into the understanding of the origins of the cosmos because it introduced our forfathers to the main participants in the creation of all things and over time the thinking of the wise continued the theme but on the whole scarcely took it futher. 

First we have the person who started all things - the Head of Days. El. Today called simply God in English by many. The Ancient Greeks’ name for this author of time itself and lord of the calendar was Chronos and later they got a bit confused and called El by the name Cronos too (because Cronos was similar a word to Chronos). Enoch must have called Him An or El depending whether his original work was in Sumerian or Akkadian but sometimes used a term or title later translated Head of Days and Daniel reflected this in the title Ancient of Days. On the whole the concept of time having a chief who is greatest of all divinities continued through history since Enoch. 

Then we have a person who came from this Head of Days and in whose name all things of nature came into being, the Son of Man. Later the Orphic teachings of the Greeks called this being Phanes. From chaos this being created order and the Cosmos took shape. Enoch showed how this Son of Man and the Head of Days were always together before the beginning and ever since have worked on all things together governing creation behind the scenes and bringing all the divinity angels into being and assigning responsibilities.

Then we have the oath. The angels knew a great oath by which all of nature takes shape and functions in an ordered way. Angels were later believed in Roman times to swear an oath of office. There might be a relationship there. One monstrous divinity punished breakers of the oath. Orcus. Enoch revealed that an angel Kasbeel is in charge of the oath that governs all things. Wikipedia explains (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasbeel) that there were two oaths in the Book of Enoch passage; one that binds the watchers and the other that binds nature. So the first of these oaths might be the oath of office sworn by every senior angel on pain of punishment.

Ebola Outbreak 2018-2020

The number of DR Congo Ebola cases has been constantly doubling every three months. It can reasonably be expected to become the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola overtaking the West Africa outbreak by the end of March 2020. Presumably it will be  repeatedly entering the various world regions by that time - USA, Europe, Far East, South America, Middle East, Russia, etc..It cannot be stopped at source by medics and governments this time because of warzones so it will just keep incubating there, perpetuating the spread into other regions. Pressure will mount to close more and more airports.

How Much Evidence to Believe in a God?

How much evidence do I need to believe in a god? It surprises me how much it varies from day to day. I guess a lot depends how encouraged or discouraged my state of mind is - whether my ‘heart’ is ‘hard’ to such things or not. On a good day I cannot help think there must surely be a good god making things happen just the way that makes sense for a good god to do. Other days it all seems bleak and as they say ‘God seems far away’ and nothing makes sense and those good days of assurance are too faint a memory. Then I start wondering whether I might be an atheist deep down and pretending not to be. I guess the main evidence is to feel loved by someone other than fellow imperfect humans - loved by someone who is not limited by weakness and corruption but can save the day. When the day gets saved by someone invisible I get a pique of faith. I try to remember those days. Like when you can hear a helicopter overhead and know it is there but cannot see it behind the rooftops. You sometimes get such clarity and certainty of God’s existence that sight becomes irrelevant. You have to try remembering once that evidence has gone away.

Renewed Christology

NOW THAT WE HAVE THE BOOK OF ENOCH

Now that we have the Book of Enoch and have every reason to believe the Jews of the first century had it too, what does it tell us about the Messiah? It is clear that they believed a person existed already in heaven who was a great mystery. “When Messiah comes nobody will know where He is from” they said (John 7:27). The spy stories about MI6 tell how the head of the organisation is mysteriously called simply C. The idea is (at least in the fantasy characterisation) that nobody would know who C was. Much like Charlie in Charlie’s Angels. Well this Messiah was going to be mysterious like that. The main identifications of Him were in the Book of Enoch and the Book of Daniel which identified Him as simply The Son of Man. Isaiah had alluded (Isaiah 8) to someone who might have a name signified by Isaiah’s name but even that allusion was heavily veiled in the prophecy. Why all this mystery? Well Enoch tells how the Son of Man was hidden away to be revealed very carefully by God. Clearly it would be very important to percieve Him in a certain way. That way was later clouded by Roman Christologies and unresolved disputes. Now with the Book of Enoch and Messiah’s words in John’s Gospel we get a picture of several vitally important points to understand about Him. Firstly He was there in heaven when Enoch went alive into heaven around 3000 BC. This is clear in the Book of Enoch and also confirmed by Messiah saying (John 8) “Before Abraham was born I am”. The prophecy of Malachi confirmed that His “goings forth were from of old, from everlasting”. Then we see that He is to ever live into the future too. Enoch shows Him in prophecy about the distant future at the end of the age and beyond. The Son of Man made clear (John 8) He would always keep from slavery to sin those who follow His teachings and believe in Him. This is vital because sons of God have to permanently worthy of that position. Only an eternal High Priest can be a completely effective Deliverer from sin. The resurrection shows this is true because death itself no longer marks any end for Him. He came a mortal in the flesh but left this world immortal having risen from the dead never to die again. For that He had to die once. This came as a shock to His followers. Enoch’s prophecy alluded to it only darkly by alluding to His resurrection. Finally the nature of His Sonship was clarified in Enoch’s prophecies (chapter 105 in the RH Charles chapter numbering). This iwas subject of Roman theologians’ and philosophers’ unresolved disputes and obfuscating doctrines since Roman times. God and His Son are distinct in Enoch’s prophecies and this would have been clear in Messiah’s time. All this presents a renewed view of Messiah lost in history but resurfacing in our times by the Holy Spirit’s revelatios. Thanks be to God.